[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-0eZytv6Qk[/youtube]
Gordon is a robot that instead of a normal embedded controller has a brain composed of 50,000 to 100,000 active neurons. A MEA (multi-electrode array) serves as the interface between living tissue and the robot, it feeds sensor information (environment monitor) into the brain and transports control signals out of the brain to the motors.
The living tissue must be kept in a special temperature-controlled unit, filled by antibiotics, that communicates with the robot through Bluetooth. There is no additional control from a human or a computer. Within about 24 hours the neurons and the robot start making connections.
The researchers at University of Reading that have developed Gordon say it is helping explore the boundary between natural and artificial intelligence.
The scientists are now looking at how to teach the robot to behave in certain ways, based on Gordon's ability to learns by itself.
Mainly for ethical reasons, it is unlikely that researchers at Reading or the handful of laboratories around the world exploring the same terrain will be using human neurons any time soon in the same kind of experiments.
But rats brain cells are not a bad stand-in: much of the difference between rodent and human intelligence, speculates Warwick, could be attributed to quantity not quality.
Rats brains are composed of about one million neurons, the specialised cells that relay information across the brain via chemicals called neurotransmitters.
...but humans have 100 billion.
praticamente è un mucchio di neuroni di topo, che dopo 24 ore si interfaccia con il suo corpo bionico e coi sensori grazie a un modo per permettere la comunicazione.
Non si pensa che verranno mai usati neuroni umani per problemi etici, ma lo scienziato ipotizza che la differenza tra i topi e gli umani sia soltanto la quantità di neuroni e non la qualità (infatti siamo scimmie col cervello ingrandito se vogliamo...).
Che ne pensate?
secondo me è una cosa davvero interessante che apre molte prospettive.
Magari provando con tanti neuroni avrà una coscenza come i piccoli mammiferi stile i topi.... E magari usandone ancora di più potrà pensare, essere usato per far avanzare la scienza da sola con un computer e un cervello interfacciati (capacità di calcolo e una mente geniale).